Route profile
FLL→DCA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Washington, 899 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 12% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 7,312 flights. How this is calculated
FLL → DCA arrives on time 71.4% of the time; the return trip, DCA → FLL, arrives on time 73.1% of the time.
FLL → DCA spends 24.6 minutes on the ground on an 899-mile trip: 18.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at FLL and 6.5 minutes from touchdown to gate at DCA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
On-time performance swings unusually widely by time of day here, wider than 92% of 4,023 comparable routes.
91.5% on time for 5–9 AM departures, against 60.2% for 6–9 PM.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 4,023 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where FLL to DCA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
FLL to DCA struggles most at 1 PM: 67.0% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 10 points behind the 77.0% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 10.1 points.
FLL to DCA is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 7 AM: 92.1% arrive on time, 3.6 points ahead of the 88.5% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 4.3 points.
Sunday is the day FLL to DCA slips furthest against routes of similar length, 65.8% on time where they average 74.2%, 8.4 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 9 points.
In February, FLL to DCA runs 12.8 points below routes of similar length, 68.8% on time to 81.6%. Against all other routes the gap is 12.7 points.
Southwest Airlines’ flights on FLL to DCA arrive on time 67.6% of the time, 8.6 points below the 76.2% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 9.8 points.
FLL to DCA against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 1 PM departures | 67.0% | routes of similar length | 77.0% | −10.0 pts | 506 here, 162,097 there |
| Hour: 7 AM departures | 92.1% | routes of similar length | 88.5% | +3.6 pts | 328 here, 215,082 there |
| Weekday: Sunday | 65.8% | routes of similar length | 74.2% | −8.4 pts | 1,073 here, 403,053 there |
| Month: February | 68.8% | routes of similar length | 81.6% | −12.8 pts | 608 here, 197,692 there |
| Airline: Southwest Airlines | 67.6% | routes of similar length | 76.2% | −8.6 pts | 1,317 here, 755,835 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 899 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why FLL → DCA flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
FLL → DCA cancelled 123 of 7,312 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 59. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 43.1% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 138 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 123 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
53 cancellations, 43.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
41 cancellations, 33.3% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
29 cancellations, 23.6% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
123 coded cancellations were recorded on FLL → DCA; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
66 min late
against a median of 4 min early
FLL → DCA has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 4 min early, but the worst tenth are 70 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 7,312 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DCA after arriving from FLL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 43% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 28% | High risk |
| 60 min | 20% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.8% | Some risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.68% of the time and diverts 0.70% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 7,138 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 66 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 7,312 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
FLL → DCA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 91.5% of the time, against 60.2% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 31.3 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 93.2% on time from 703 flights
- 7 AM: 92.1% on time from 334 flights
- 8 AM: 87.4% on time from 342 flights
- 9 AM: 79.9% on time from 405 flights
- 10 AM: 78.7% on time from 331 flights
- 11 AM: 79.7% on time from 714 flights
- 12 PM: 70.0% on time from 363 flights
- 1 PM: 67.0% on time from 519 flights
- 2 PM: too few flights to score
- 3 PM: 64.6% on time from 267 flights
- 4 PM: 58.9% on time from 666 flights
- 5 PM: 61.1% on time from 211 flights
- 6 PM: 60.1% on time from 1,304 flights
- 7 PM: 59.1% on time from 342 flights
- 8 PM: 61.0% on time from 684 flights
- 9 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why FLL → DCA runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for FLL → DCA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on FLL → DCA, at 41.6%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 91.5% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 60.2%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue | 4,589 | 71.9% | 1.90% | -5 min | 11.2% |
| American Airlines | 1,381 | 73.2% | 1.59% | -4 min | 11.4% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,342 | 67.6% | 1.04% | 1 min | 11.4% |
JetBlue flew 62.8% of the 7,312 flights listed.
American Airlines arrived on time 5.6 percentage points more often than Southwest Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Miami to Washington
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
FLL → BWI is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 74.2% on time, against 71.4% for FLL → DCA.
Flying to DCA from the Miami area? Compare FLL, MIA for DCA, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
B61480 (7:30 AM) arrived on time 90.5% of the time, 32.2 points more often than B62080 (8:00 PM) at 58.3%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 10.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 73.1%
- Feb: 68.8%
- Mar: 67.1%
- Apr: 75.6%
- May: 70.7%
- Jun: 70.9%
- Jul: 62.4%
- Aug: 63.3%
- Sep: 78.1%
- Oct: 79.4%
- Nov: 78.5%
- Dec: 71.6%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 17.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 56.9% from 209 flights
- August 2023: 59.3% from 200 flights
- September 2023: 72.9% from 193 flights
- October 2023: 74.1% from 201 flights
- November 2023: 75.4% from 211 flights
- December 2023: 75.8% from 229 flights
- January 2024: 74.7% from 247 flights
- February 2024: 76.1% from 243 flights
- March 2024: 65.1% from 265 flights
- April 2024: 74.3% from 220 flights
- May 2024: 67.3% from 165 flights
- June 2024: 75.8% from 174 flights
- July 2024: 78.8% from 194 flights
- August 2024: 68.5% from 189 flights
- September 2024: 83.3% from 144 flights
- October 2024: 89.2% from 162 flights
- November 2024: 91.3% from 197 flights
- December 2024: 77.4% from 214 flights
- January 2025: 79.2% from 206 flights
- February 2025: 64.1% from 191 flights
- March 2025: 75.2% from 217 flights
- April 2025: 82.4% from 210 flights
- May 2025: 70.5% from 179 flights
- June 2025: 63.9% from 169 flights
- July 2025: 55.8% from 176 flights
- August 2025: 62.4% from 173 flights
- September 2025: 79.7% from 144 flights
- October 2025: 76.9% from 187 flights
- November 2025: 69.1% from 200 flights
- December 2025: 62.2% from 233 flights
- January 2026: 65.5% from 222 flights
- February 2026: 63.6% from 190 flights
- March 2026: 61.2% from 211 flights
- April 2026: 70.0% from 201 flights
- May 2026: 73.7% from 195 flights
- June 2026: 73.1% from 171 flights
- July 2026: 56.8% from 180 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 67.5% against 75.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 7.6 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 7,312 FLL → DCA flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed